


the test of love

by asmaanixx



Category: Ishq Mein Marjawan 2
Genre: Anger, Angst, Anxiety, Attempted Murder, Episode 157, F/M, Panic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:35:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29562693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asmaanixx/pseuds/asmaanixx
Summary: Vansh challenges Riddhima to prove her love for him.
Relationships: Riddhima/Vansh Raisinghania
Kudos: 3





	the test of love

Riddhima was stunned by Vansh’s demand. Take someone’s life? How could she possibly do that?

“Yeh tum mujhse kya maang re ho Vansh. Mein, mein kissi ki jaan kaise le sakti hoon?” She cried.

“Kyun? Tumne abhi toh kaha ki tum mere liye kuch bhi kar sakti ho. Toh karo.” He demanded with manic eyes. “Agar tumhe mera pyaar chahiye toh tumhe Kabir ki jaan leni hogi.”

Riddhima closed her eyes and shook her head.

He scoffed. “I knew it. Tumhara pyaar sirf dikhava hai Riddhima. Sirf tumhare lafzon mein rehte hai, harkaton mein nahi.”

She shook her head again and reached out for him but he snatched his arm away.

“The choice is yours Riddhima. Mera pyaar, ya Kabir ki jaan.” With pained eyes, he left Riddhima to be alone at the poolside.

Her head clutched in her hands, Riddhima collapsed to the ground. Her sobs echoed around the room but it made no difference to the walls of the VR Mansion. They were used to hearing her cries by now.

“Vansh!” She wailed.

Why was she asked to prove her love every damn time? First Kabir held his love for her hostage by asking for Vansh’s life in return. Now, Vansh was doing the exact same thing. Why couldn’t they simply ask for her to lay down her life? That would be a far easier task than to take someone else’s.

Even if Kabir deserved to be punished for his crimes, she didn’t want to be the one to punish him. For one, she didn’t hold that right, and two, how can she live with herself afterwards knowing that she had inflicted pain onto someone else? It will go against everything that she believed in. But most importantly, what would that say about her? Is that what she was most terrified of? Becoming the very thing that she feared Vansh to be?

She sniffled. No, she can’t be a murderer like him. She clutched her knees tighter to herself. He has to know that she’s not capable of this. She can’t hurt anyone, even Kabir.

Wiping her cheeks, she got up and headed towards their room. She had to speak to Vansh again. She had to convince him to take his demand back. If he wanted to still punish her then so be it. But not murder. She can’t do that.

“Vansh.” She walked into the room, and her tears instantly flowed out again.

Vansh turned away from her, but she saw his glistening cheeks. He was crying too. That wasn’t right. He can’t cry. Without wasting another second, she hugged him tightly from behind. He tried to break out of her grip, but she clasped her hands tighter around him.

“Let me go Riddhima.” He growled.

“Nahi.” She insisted. He continued to struggle, and she continued to hold on. “Vansh, please.” She pleaded. “Please mujhse aisa mat kar vao.” Sniffling, and speaking in a more clearer voice, she told him, “Tum, tum mujhe aur koi bhi saaza de do, mujhe manzoor hai. Maar na chahte ho toh maaro. Chilao, dhamki do, gaala gonth do, but  _ please _ don’t make me do this. Mujhse yeh nahi ho payega.”

Reaching around, Vansh grabbed Riddhima by the hair and pulled her around so that she was standing before him. Clutching her by the face, he trembled with fury.

“Kyun nahi ho payega? Huh?” He hissed. “Jab mere saath bewafai karni thi tab tumse saare hadhe paar ho rahe the. Par jab pyaar ki baari aayi tab tumse yeh kaam nahi hota?”

“Pyaar mein jaan thodi na li jaati hai Vansh.” She tried to reason.

“Acha?” There was a gleam in his eye that Riddhima didn’t like at all. “Yeh asul kahan chala gaya tha jab Ragini bewajah maari gayi thi?” Riddhima’s eyes widened. Vansh nodded his head. “Ragini. Remember her? Jiska naam tum chaubis ghaante jaap thi rehti thi. Jis ladki ko meine  _ teen saal _ se sambhal kar rakha tha, aur tumne ek hi jhatke mein maut ke moonh mein dhakail diya. Tumhare haath toh already khoon se range hue hai. So what’s one more?”

Riddhima was numb to his words. No, Ragini didn’t die because of her. It was because of Kabir.  _He_ was the one who shot her. But… he was only able to do so because of her. It was because  _ she _ handed Ragini over to him. Riddhima closed her eyes and lowered her head.

Vansh let her go with a strong push and Riddhima wanted to cry again. He walked past her to the bathroom, and Riddhima wished that the cold shower he was taking would wash away his temper.

* * *

Riddhima had tried approaching Vansh all of next day but he refused to be in her vicinity. If she entered the same room he was in, he would immediately leave. If she tried calling him, he would either disconnect the call or let it ring until it stopped by itself.

Every second that passed was nothing less than torture for her. On one hand was the turmoil of having to kill Kabir and the other was losing Vansh forever. Every second that he distanced himself from her, made her feel as if her soul was being ripped apart from her body. Then there was the fact that if she did what Vansh wanted, then her soul might as well be dead. And what’s the guarantee that Vansh would want her with a dead soul? After all, that’s not the woman he fell in love with in the first place right? But did he even love her at all?

She looked towards Bappa and  _ begged _ for him to take her out of this dilemma. She didn’t know how much longer she could tolerate this pain.

She turned around and saw Kabir talking on the phone with someone. He had a grand smile on his face and was laughing away as if he didn’t ruin her life in an irrevocable manner. Anger and irritation seeped into her. How dare he be so nonchalant and carefree while she and Vansh were suffering so terribly?

Swiping a hand across her wet cheeks, Riddhima marched to her bedroom. From the back corner of her closet, she pulled out the little vial of poison that she had saved for herself. She should have given this to him months ago.

Closing her hands around it, she went to the kitchen. She considered herself extremely lucky that no one was around. Seated on the counter was a tall glass of piping hot milk with dates inside. Kabir’s favorite.

Her heart thudded and her hands trembled as she opened the vial. She breathed heavily. She shouldn’t do this. Kabir deserves to be punished by law, not murdered like this. But who’s going to punish him and how? She had nothing against him, and given his connections with the police, she would be helpless. Even Vansh wouldn’t help her out this time. Vansh…

__

_ “The choice is yours Riddhima. Mera pyaar, ya Kabir ki jaan.” _

Riddhima dumped the contents of the entire bottle into the glass. She took a spoon, and mixed it thoroughly. Not a single trace of something nefarious hidden inside. She went to the sink, washed the spoon and placed it away on the drying rack.

Without a single glance backwards, Riddhima left the kitchen.

* * *

Out in the garden, Riddhima was busy digging a hole. She had broken the vial until it had become small shards of glass. It would be nearly impossible to determine what was inside. Still, she couldn’t risk it. It was acceptable for her to get caught for the crime. But to have Vansh be implicated for it? No. She couldn’t allow that.

She placed the shards inside the hole and patted the dirt back over it. If needed, she’ll plant some flowers in the morning so that it didn’t look too out of place.

* * *

When she entered the room, Vansh glanced at her soiled clothes and hands. He didn’t say a word and neither did she.

She walked past him to the bathroom where she stood underneath the icy water. She couldn’t really feel the frigid temperature. She supposed that’s what happens when one’s soul gets murdered.

* * *

The night passed with her tossing and turning in bed. She kept waiting to hear a shrill scream to wake up the house and inform everyone of the heinous crime she committed. Aahana’s cries over losing her fiance, Ishani’s taunts over her knowing how wrong Riddhima was for her brother, Daadi perhaps giving her another slap for the murder she committed. But Vansh? She clutched her pillow tightly. How would he react when he found out she did as he asked. Would he love her less? Would it soothe the pain and heartache he was suffering from or would it increase? What if it wasn’t enough? What if he asked her to do it again? Riddhima didn’t know if she could.

She scooted over and hugged her husband.

“I love you Vansh.” She whispered into his back.

She held onto him tightly, not knowing if this would be the last night she spent with him.

* * *

Morning came, and Riddhima’s anxiety heightened. Any moment now Kabir’s dead body would be found and all hell will break loose.

Pale in color, and low in energy, Riddhima sat down at the dining table. She busied herself in eating her meal even though every morsel made her want to throw up.

Finished with her meal, she had stood up to take her dirty plate to the kitchen when she halted in her steps. The dishes clattered to the floor and Riddhima would have followed after them had it not been for Vansh holding her up.

“Kabir.” She whispered.

There he was standing before her healthy and hearty. Not a single symptom of something untowards happening to him.

“Tumhe kya hua?” He asked, his face one of confusion and suspicion.

“Kuch dino se Riddhima ki tabeet kuch teekh nahi hai.” Vansh covered. “Goli lagi thi aur ab yeh saare parties. Iski body par kuch zyaada hi stress par ra hoga.”

“Tum Riddhima ko apne kamre mein le jaa. Isse kuch karne ki zaroorat nahi hai. Hum hai sab sambhal ne ke liye.” Daadi commanded.

“Ji Daadi.”

Without another word, Vansh lifted Riddhima in his arms and took her to their room.

Once inside, Riddhima spoke in a daze. “Woh Kabir… Vansh, woh dhood aur kajoor… meine… meine zeh-”

“Shhh.” He placed a single finger on her lips. Her mind immediately snapped its entire focus onto him. There was a soft pain in his eyes. “I know.”

She shook her head. “Nahi, tum nahi jaante Vansh. Meine kiya jo tumne kaha. Meine usse-” She tried to speak but she was shushed once again.

“Meine kaha na Riddhima. I  _ know _ .” He said. He placed a hand against her cheek and told her, “I saw you last night.”

Tears fell down Riddhima’s face. She touched his wrist, and closed her eyes.

Shaking her head, she said, “I failed. Vansh, I tried. But nahi ho paya.”

He swiped his thumbs against her cheeks and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Riddhima looked up at him in surprise.

“You didn’t fail Riddhima.”

“I did.” She insisted in a panicked voice. “Woh maara nahi. Tumne dekha na usse neeche. Tum, tum na mujhe kuch time de do mein kar dungi. Mein woh sab karungi jo tum kahoge Vansh. Mein mein… ” She clutched the front of his shirt and fisted it. “Mein sab kuch karungi. Just don’t hate me.”

Vansh cupped her face and gently spoke to her, “You didn’t fail Riddhima. Meine rok liya tha. Aur jahan rahi baat tumse nafrat karni ki, I can never do that. Mein aisa soch bhi nahi sakta. I love you far too much.”

Riddhima looked at him and saw the same broken pain in his eyes as from two days ago.

“Then just love me please. Yeh saara gussa, aur nafrat chod do.” She cupped his face as well and brought their foreheads together.

“Tum mere liye kuch bhi kar sakti ho Riddhima?” He asked, still not quite believing the extent she was willing to go for him.

With conviction in her voice, she looked him in the eye and told him, “ _ Kuch bhi _ Vansh. Jaan de bhi sakti hoon, aur le bhi.”

Holding his face, she looked him in the eye. Something was shifting between them both. A silent communication of all the limits they were willing to cross, the morals and values they were willing to forego just for each other. Neither one of them was virtuous or a holy saint. They were both fcked up in their own ways, but it was this broken dangerous love that kept pulling them towards each other.

Vansh leaned forward and captured her lips in a viciously heated kiss. Riddhima kissed him back with equal force. She scooted back on the bed as he crawled on top of her.

It was a different kind of love they were making. It was honest, raw, and filled with nothing but immense passion and love for each other. There were no deceit, lies, misunderstandings or trickery adorning their bodies. They were completely naked in their intent and feelings for one another. And that made the ecstasies they achieved that much sweeter, hotter and pleasurable.


End file.
